Auto Accidents

Published on: October 17, 2014

The cab driver who killed 9 year old Cooper Stock last January was charged with failure to exercise due care, a traffic infraction that carries a maximum of 15 days in jail

Last January, 9 year old Cooper Stock was walking on the Upper West Side of Manhattan with his father when he was struck by a taxi making a left turn at the intersection of West End and West 97th Street (see previous blog). The cab driver who struck the young boy was charged this month with failure to exercise due care, a traffic violation that carries a maximum of 15 days in jail, fines up to $750, a license suspension of up to 6 months and a mandatory drivers’ed course.

Since the beginning of the year the total number of traffic fatalities in NYC is down by 5.6% with pedestrian deaths down by 16.6% compared to 2013 however the number of cyclists dying in accidents has more than doubled during the same period of time

By GGCRBHS&M

167 people, including 80 pedestrians, 15 cyclists, 17 vehicle passengers and 55 motorists died in traffic accidents in New York City between the beginning of January and the end of August 2013 compared to a total of 177 including 96 pedestrians, 7 cyclists, 18 vehicle passengers and 56 motorists for the same period of time in 2013. The number of motorists and passengers vehicle deaths is stable while pedestrian deaths have been declining following some intense Zero Vision campaigning. However not everything looks good in this picture: the number of cyclists dying in traffic accidents more than doubled during that time.

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Published on: October 14, 2014

70 year old pedestrian dies after being struck by SUV in Chinatown, downtown Manhattan

By GGCRBHS&M

A 70 year old woman was fatally hit by a SUV in Chinatown early this morning. According to the NY Daily news, the SUV driver was waiting at a red light on Elizabeth Street and Canal. When the light turned green, the man started to drive. He didn’t see the woman crossing in front of the car and hit her.

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The nyccrashmapper.com heat map highlights how dangerous Canal Street is. There is an average of 2.71 accidents per month at the intersection where the woman was hit by the SUV.

Published on: October 7, 2014

Pedestrian dies after being struck by a SUV last night in Brooklyn

By GGCRBHS&M

Cristina Alonso died yesterday night after she was hit by a SUV while she was crossing 14th Ave at 86th Street in Dyker Heights in Brooklyn, NYC. The police said the she was struck by the car while walking outside the crosswalk. She died at the Hopsital.

A pedestrian was seriously injured by a taxi that jumped the curb in Uptown Manhattan

By GGCRBHS&M

A pedestrian suffered personal injury after he was hit by a yellow cab on the sidewalk on East 59th Street near Madison Ave in New York yesterday around lunch time. The cab driver lost control of his vehicle, jumped the curb and hit the man before crashing into a building. According to witnesses the cab driver was trying to avoid a cyclist before the accident happened.

With no traffic related death in their area since the begining of 2014, the 108th precinct police demonstrate that Vision Zero efforts can save lives

By GGCRBHS&M

Since the beginning of the year, there has been no deaths related to traffic accidents in Long Island City, Sunnyside and Woodside in Queens, NYC, after the police in this area doubled down on their enforcement of traffic violations as part of the Vision Zero Initiative to reduce traffic fatalities. This is quite an achievement compared to previous traffic statistics in the precinct where at the end of September 2013 8 people including 5 pedestrians were killed in vehicle accidents.

The police have been especially targeting drivers speeding and texting while driving as these behaviors are the two main contributing factors of pedestrian deaths in New York. Speeding tickets were up 30% compared to 2013. Police also doubled the number drunk drivers arrests with 112 people arrested so far compared to a total of 52 in 2013.

Brooklyn pedestrian suffers severe head injuries in car accident

By GGCRBHS&M

A 52 year old man was in critical condition after he was struck by a car on Pitkin Ave near Berriman Street in Brooklyn, NYC on Saturday Afternoon. According to the police, the man was crossing against the light in the pedestrian crosswalk when he was struck by a 68 year old woman driving a Mecedes SUV.

After trying to rescue her dog that was struck by a car, a woman was struck by a second car in a street in Brooklyn; both drivers left the scene of the accident without stopping

By GGCRBHS&M

A woman who ran in the street in Brooklyn to try to save her dog that had been run over by a car was struck by another car. The dog died and the 31 year old woman is in critical condition. Both drivers fled and the police are still looking for them.

Kristin Rendina was walking her two dogs when one of them was hit by a car that didn’t stop on W. Second St. near Avenue Z in Gravesend. She ran from the sidewalk to kneel by the dog and was struck by a black Jeep Wrangler driving on Avenue Z whose driver fled the scene.

Another pedestrian was hit by a car this morning on the Upper West Side of Manhattan causing severe personal injury

By GGCRBHS&M

Early this morning a female pedestrian was rushed to the hospital after she was struck by a car at the intersection of west 79th street and Broadway (read more in the New York Daily News). Since the beginning of this year numerous pedestrians have suffered personal injury or lost their life after being struck by vehicles on some of the larger streets on the Upper West Side. West 79th Street is one of the most dangerous streets on the Upper West Side because motorists exiting and entering the Henry Hudson Parkway use this large street. In February 2014, residents of Community Board 7 made a list of the 4 most dangerous intersections on the Upper West Side one of which was Riverside Drive and 79th street. According to NYC Crashmapper, there is an average 3.23 collisions per month at this intersection. This morning’s accident happened two blocks away on the same street at another dangerous intersection. Crashmapper calculated a rate of 2.42 collisions per month at the intersection of Broadway and 79th street. According to the same source between August 2011 and February 2014 there were 75 collisions at this location. 5 pedestrians, 1 bicyclist, 5 passengers and 4 drivers suffered personal injury as a result of these accidents.

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NYC Crashmapper heatmap shows that every intersection on 79th street has a high rate of collisions

Published on: September 23, 2014

One man died and another suffered personal injury in two separate NYC motorcycle accidents during which both motorcyclists were struck by a car

By GGCRBHS&M

A 22 year old motorcyclist suffered severe personal injury after he was struck by a car while trying to take care of his disabled bike on the Henry Hudson Parkway in the southbound middle lane at West 70th Street. The driver remained at the scene while the victim was taken to the hospital in critical condition. Less than 12 hours later, 24 year old David Duran was heading West on 73rd Avenue near the Clearview Expressway when the driver of a Mazda tried to make a U turn and fatally struck the young motorcyclist.